It's because your ears have not become attuned to picking up the beginning and end of words in that language. If you look at a the waveform of someone speaking English, most phrases do not have pauses in them -- that is, the sound is continuous. The only reason you hear words is b/c your ears (i.e., your brain) have learned to identify the patterns in English that signify word boundaries.
Idisagreeentirely, and I am a licensed ESL teacher with experience teaching English in a Spanish-speaking country. English is more enunciated than Spanish, with greater variation in mouth orientation and intonation. Compared to English, Spanish does run together. One of the best ways to sound fluent in Spanish is to learn to bridge words.
Also,
it's rather asinine to equate fluency in Spanish to 1-2 points on the MCAT. AdComs are comprised of people, not computers. I'd look favorably on acquiring an L2, but that's because I know how difficult it is.
(1) YOU WILL NOT learn Spanish on your own. If your goal is communication, you need to intake and produce the language through conversation.
(2) YOU WILL NOT get your money's worth out of a medical-spanish program. If you have unlimited funds and no interpersonal skills,
www.maximonivel.com or similar programs are a good option. If, however, you really want to learn the language, cowboy up and immerse yourself in the language. Buy a plane ticket, find a host for the first month, get a job, and come back fluenty.
If you can already speak Spanish to a functional degree, just contact organizaciones sin lucro and most will jump at the opportunity for a free volunteer. You don't need to pay $1,000 for a month of volunteer work in a Spanish-speaking country.
If anyone has s
pecific questions about teaching English, Spanish immersion, living abroad, or L2 acquisition, feel free to PM me.
Pura Vida,
-C.J.